Bulldog Blowout

Last season, the Bulldogs’ win over Ripley was proclaimed as a statement win. A year later, head coach Ron Price and his staff showed how far the program has come with a 49-0 shutout win over the Tigers Friday night.

New Albany opened the game with three penalties, but did not look back after that point, scoring on every possession in the first half.

“It’s exciting,” Price said. “We’ve worked for this, and I believe this game last year moved our program to where we wanted it to be. It was a big win, but to win the way we did tonight shows the character of our football team.”

Kareem Brown opened the ‘Dawgs scoring attack with a nine yard reception from Tyler Basil. Basil later found Luke Foley on a 25-yard catch to give New Albany the 14-0 advantage after the first quarter. The senior had 183 passing yards and three touchdowns at the half.

Many offensive weapons were used throughout the game, including Kelvin Worship, who rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

“I have to give it all to my offensive line. They gave some big blocks tonight and got me in the end zone,” he said.

“Kelvin has done a great job for us,” Price added. “Coming into the fall, we didn’t know who our running back was going to be. We lost a great one in Eric Johnson last year, but Kelvin has stepped in the last two weeks and has done an outstanding job. I’m very proud of that young man.”

Ahead 35-0 in the third quarter, Basil found Joshua Googe for his first touchdown reception of the year.

“I told Tyler he needed to hit me because I’ve been open a couple of times, and Luke gave me a good block on the side,” Googe said of his touchdown. “I saw the corner back in the corner of my eye, and I just let my feet do the talking.”

Worship would finish the scoring with his second touchdown after Josh Creekmore sent a punt return to the Tigers’ two-yard line.

This was not just any win for New Albany (2-0) as Price received a Gatorade bath at the end of the game as part of the team’s celebration.

“We’ve been preparing for Ripley for a couple of years now,” Foley said. “It all started when we were freshmen. We’ve been working really hard all summer, and tonight we showed them what we have pretty good.”

Basil had another impressive showing, finishing 12-for-13 for 216 yards and four touchdowns, while Brown had 81 receiving yards and two touchdowns to accompany another 49 yards on the ground.

As for the defense, Zach Hand and Riley Alef had 12 and 11 tackles respectively in the ‘Dawgs first shutout of the year.

“Defense played outstanding tonight, and I can’t be more proud of our group of guys than I am right now,” Price said.